Western Australia intensifies vaccination efforts amid diphtheria outbreak impacting Aboriginal communities

Health authorities in Western Australia have expanded vaccination initiatives as a diphtheria outbreak, primarily affecting Aboriginal communities and young people, escalates across the state, including Perth.

Western Australian health authorities have warned of a diphtheria outbreak affecting several parts of the state, with most cases concentrated in Kimberley, Pilbara, Goldfields and Midwest, and recent infections also recorded in Perth. The state health department said the broader public still faces a low risk, but the outbreak has been hardest on Aboriginal communities and has mainly involved children and young people. Health officials said vaccination remains the best defence against severe illness.

The alert comes after months of escalating infections. In May, Australian health authorities said the country was facing its largest diphtheria outbreak on record, with most cases in remote and outer regional areas and many among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Western Australia’s health department later expanded its vaccination programme to the Midwest and made booster access broader for Aboriginal people across the state, after reporting 170 cases across Kimberley, Pilbara and Goldfields by early July.

Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection that can affect the throat or skin. Health information from Western Australia says some strains produce a toxin that can cause severe, and sometimes life-threatening, illness. Authorities said symptoms can begin with a sore throat or skin wounds that do not heal, and urged people to seek medical care quickly if they have trouble breathing or swallowing. Vaccination offers the strongest protection against severe disease, although it does not always stop transmission entirely.

In August, Perth health officials reported a severe respiratory case in the metropolitan area and again urged adolescents and adults to make sure their vaccinations are current. They said Aboriginal people across Western Australia are eligible for a booster, along with non-Aboriginal residents of the Kimberley, Pilbara, Goldfields and Midwest.